A Krogan lover and the family business
by spike tashy
Summary: On the eve of battle Grunt goes to confess his feeling for Shepard. This leads to grunt learning more about Shepard's ancestors and their past confrontation with the reapers. Can the mighty krogan warrior admit his feeling or will his nerves get the better of him? (slight skyrim crossover)


Grunt shifted nervously. His heart was pounding, his mouth was dry and his body was twitching as though he were about to jump head first into hell. He felt the elevator stop as it reached Shepard's cabin. Why was he so nervous? He was Urdnot Grunt slayer of thresher maws, devourer of collectors, and above all a perfect krogan. Why then did he feel all 3 of his hearts clench when he thought about what he was going to do next? Slowly Grunt reached up and banged on the metal door to Shepard's room. His heart thundered in his chest as he heard someone inside shift around. "One moment." Swallowing slightly Grunt did his best to appear composed and casual; the exact opposite of what he was feeling right now. His plates itched and burned with nervous energy, and in the back of his mind he wanted nothing more than to bash his head against the wall a few dozen times to expend the abundance of energy that was flowing through his body. It wasn't like he had prepared for this. He'd thought about it for a long time, since she'd released him from the tank in fact. But this hand changed after she'd helped him with the trails.

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FLASHBACK

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Grunt grinned as he grabbed the charging Varren and brought his fist down upon the creature's head. "That makes 36 Shepard! How many you got? ….Shepard?" turning Grunt watched as Shepard charged forward her biotic fields glowing slamming into another varren breaking ever bone in his body, no sooner had she come to a stop then she whipped around and fired twin blasts from her shotgun killing two more varren before charging again and zipping across the battlefield and into a pack of more unsuspecting varren. "You're falling behind Grunt! I've got 59." Grunt ground his teeth together and charged back into the battle."

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REAL TIME

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He watched as the door to her room hissed open and he found her standing there. "Hello Grunt. Can I help you?" he nodded. "Could we….could we go inside?" gods he sounded like a virgin pup. But Shepard nodded and guided him into her room. Absentmindedly he noted the space rodent in its glass box, the floating fish in their tank and a wall full of ship models Shepard was notorious for collecting in their travels. Coming to a stop next to the fish tank Grunt sighed and ran his hand over his head. Why did he feel more nervous now, then when he had run unarmed into that Minoc nest? "Shepard…I…how are you feeling?" Shepard shrugged and sat down on her bed. "I'm….nervous. I can't help but wonder…..did I…..did we…do enough?" Grunt chuckled. "You brokered a peace between my people and the turains. Then you convinced the salarians to cure the genophage. And to top it off you stopped a civil war, between the geth and the quarains. I think you've done more than enough." Shepard chuckled. "I guess…..but still. I can't help but wonder…" Grunt nodded. "Shepard….I….." She was looking directly at him. In the back of his mind he could not help but remember what Wrex had told him during his last visit to tuchanka.

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FLASHBACK

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"That's an odd question to ask." Grunt shifted nervously. "I just…..I want to know." Wrex sat back on his throne and began to think. "It's not unheard of…some krogan just prefer aliens. I'll admit I've looked at a few Asari before. What kind of alien has caught your eye?" he lied, said it was an Asari. But as he spoke he heard her voice behind him. Turning he caught sight of Shepard arguing with another krogan about something. Even as he watched Shepard stepped forward and bashed her head against the krogan's crest, making the krogan stagger. Grunt could not hide the smile that crossed his face. "Ahhhhhhh. I think I understand now. You're in love with Shepard." Grunt's head whipped back around to face Wrex who had a smirk on his face. "I don't…I'm not…." But Grunt's voice fell silent as Wrex raised his hand. "I can't say I'm disappointed." That surprised Grunt. "She's certainly got enough fire to be a krogan. And I'm pretty sure she's wild in the sack too. Plus she's a biotic; so that's a big plus. But I'll tell you what I've come to realize." Wrex leaned in closer to Grunt. "Shepard is not just some average female. She cannot be courted with battle prowess and strategy; for she has no equal. There is not a krogan alive who can best her in battle, not even myself."

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Grunt shifted. "Then…what should I do?" Wrex's smirk widened. "Something krogan's are not good at; talk to her. Tell her your feelings." Again Grunt shifted. "I'm not good with words. Can't I just kill something and offer it to her? It works with the other females." Wrex laughed out loud. "Give Shepard 15 minutes and I have no doubt that she could not only beat Kalros the mother of all threshermaws into submission; but she could tame her and ride her into battle against her enemies." Despite his nerves Grunt smiled as his mind constructed an image of Shepard riding atop Kalros with a flaming sword….and very little clothing.

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REAL TIME

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She was still looking at him. "Grunt…..are you ok? Are you sick?" his plates began to burn as she touched his forehead. "You're warm." Gods her smell was amazing. It made him want to grab her and claim every inch of her body as his. But he resisted these urges and instead smiled weakly at her. "I'm….ok. Just my blood pumping for battle. I just…can we talk?" Shepard nodded and sat back down on the bed and stared at him. His plates felt like they were covered in small insects each of which was doing their best to make him tear at them, and still Shepard was looking at him. "Grunt…are you sure you're ok? You haven't-" "I sent the mating request for you, after the trials." A split second after the words left his mouth, he wanted to die. Why on earth had he admitted that?! It was his deepest secret the one he had planned to take to his grave. The one secret he would never admit to; not even under torture, and yet with just a sentence Shepard had forced him to admit it. He felt his plates burn with humiliation as Shepard looked at him for a moment. "I know." that surprised him. "You…knew?" Shepard nodded. "Yes. I check my messages on a regular basis." Suddenly his mouth had gone very dry. "But you never….." Shepard nodded. "I figured it was hormones. You'd just completed your trial. You were pumped up and excited. I bet it was like you were drunk."

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Grunt shifted awkwardly but nodded. It was true; the time after the trails was a blur of alcohol, females, and lots of fucking. "I figured it was a 'drunken message'. I didn't bring it up because I didn't want to embarrass you." Grunt took a deep breath. "I was drunk….but….I meant it. I want….you, Shepard. I want you to be mine." Shepard continued to look at him for another minute before speaking. "How do I know that's true? We're about to go into battle now, you could just be drunk again." But Grunt shook his head; "no. I mean it. Let me prove it to you." And then for some odd reason he began pulling at his armor, tearing it off of his body in a rush, letting it hit the floor with loud 'thuds' and 'clunks'. He was half naked by the time Shepard reacted, suddenly Grunt felt his body freeze in place as her stasis field hit and then wrapped around him. "Grunt…" he looked at her, willing her to see the longing in his eye. "I've thought about you Shepard. Every day since you left I've thought about you. Your laugh, your smile….you're body. I want you. Just you and no one else."

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He felt her stasis field vanish but he remained still as Shepard continued to look at him. After a moment she sighed. "Come here….keep the rest of your armor on." Grunt nodded sheepishly and moved to the spot of the bed Shepard had motioned to. He noted that the bed did not sink as far as he had expected it to. He watched awkwardly as Shepard stood up and moved over to one of the shelves over her bed. When Shepard turned back to him she had something in her hand. "Did you know this is not the first time my family has fought the reapers?" Grunt shook his head and watched as she offered him the object in her hand. It was a necklace, or more specifically an amulet. Taking the amulet from her Grunt turned it over in his hand. It was carved from some kind of hard yet soft material, perhaps bone? The design was that of an ancient human design, he'd seen pictures of a weapon of similar design; humans called it a battle axe. "It's called an amulet of talos. One of my ancestors wore it when he defeated the world eater Alduin."

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Grunt looked up at her. "When?" Shepard smiled, "according to the legend…about 50,000 years ago." Grunt looked at her; she just smiled. "I've been thinking about it lately. They said the world eater, Alduin was a dragon. I wonder if that was how they saw the reapers? They couldn't have known it was an alien or a machine, so they thought it was a dragon sent by the gods to wipe them out." Grunt nodded slowly. "It would…make sense. If I saw a reaper and I didn't know what it was I would…..assume it was some kind of monster." Shepard smiled. "The legend says my ancestor was able to slay Alduin using only his voice; that he 'shouted' the great beast into submission." Grunt watched as Shepard flexed her arm, a blue mass effect field covering her skin signaling she was flaring her biotics. "I wonder if he really did that, or if he had some kind of crude biotics and that was how they were able to explain his powers." Grunt watched as Shepard rested her chin against her knees and she hugged her legs to her chest. "I'm scared Grunt…what if…what if I fail? Everyone is counting on me, but I got lucky with Sovereign; and harbinger…..he scares Me." she looked sideways at him. "If I tell you something will you keep it a secret?" he nodded. "Of course Shepard." Shepard was silent for a long time before speaking.

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"Sometimes….I can hear his voice; harbinger's. If it's really quite and I clear my head, I can hear him. He mocks me, tells me he'll capture me and make me watch as he indoctrinates everyone I care about, and once he has everyone he'll make them kill me." "Not me." she looked up at him. Grunt shifted so he could pull her into the crude gesture humans called a hug. "Not me. I'd kill myself before I'd allow that trash to control Me." he looked down at her. She was so small compared to him and yet…..gently he reached out and brushed back some of her long blonde hair. "I'll never hurt you Shepard. I love you." He held her close against his body. He lost track of time and how long they stayed like this; the only sound in the room came from the fish in their tank, and the space hamster in his display. "If we do this….." he looked down at her. "If we beat the reapers, truly beat them. would you still love me?" he looked at her, "I don't understand?" she sighed and pulled away from him; moving across the room she stopped in front of the fish tank. "After this…I'm done. After we beat the reapers I'm retiring. I've been in the military for half my life. Sure I'm young but…I'm done. I don't want to fight anymore. Can you love a warrior who doesn't fight anymore?"

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He looked at her, and for the first time was struck by just how tired she looked. Her skin was pale, and her hands shook slightly as she ran them through her hair. "What would you do instead?" she smiled weakly. "I think I might….teach. After this there will be plenty of openings for teacher at the Ascension Project. I was already offered a job there before all of this happened. If there's anything left to go back to….I'll take it. I'm so tired of the fighting." Slowly grunt got up and moved so he stood behind her. "And I'll go with you. Someone has to make sure your students pay attention. Who better then the shotgun wielding krogan standing next to you?" Shepard laughed at that. Grunt smiled as he watched her put her hand against the glass fish tank to keep from falling over as she laughed. After several minutes the laughter died down and Shepard was able to draw breath. "That'll be some site for the students." Grunt nodded. "Indeed, but first…." Slowly he reached out and offered her the amulet she'd handed to him before. "First I have to do the same thing my ancestor did and stop the reapers." Grunt nodded and watched as she took the amulet from him before examining it for a moment. "If this works….if we do this….." she turned to him. "If we do this; and end this war once and for all…." Grunt held his breath. He was prepared to offer her anything. "I expect a date. Somewhere nice, with good food and music." Grunt nodded. "Only the best food and drink for you." Shepard smiled. "Close your eyes."

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Nervously he did as she said. A moment later he felt her lips touch his forehead. "Be safe grunt." He nodded. "Yes battlemaster." Another kiss. "Come back unharmed." "As you command battlemaster." Slowly he opened his eyes and looked at her. She was so perfect. "same to you Shepard. Come back to me." Shepard nodded. "I will grunt. I will." She opened her mouth to say more but a mechanical tone interrupted her followed seconds later by EDI's voice. "Shepard, we're nearing earth." Shepard smiled weakly at grunt. "Duty calls." Grunt nodded. "To battle we go. I almost feel sorry for the reapers." Shepard chuckled. "let's kick their asses." Grunt nodded. "let's kick em in the quad." Shepard nodded. As she moved to ready herself grunt pulled her against his body. "be careful Shepard." She nodded and hugged his arm. "I will grunt." Grunt smiled. "I mean it. if you get hurt I'll get angry. You won't like me when I'm angry." Shepard chuckled. "so you're the hulk now?" grunt shook his head. "no, I'm a krogan who's in love. And anyone who harms my love will be blasted into oblivion." Shepard smiled. "I'll pass that message along to the reapers." grunt nodded. "good. and just so you know..." he leaned in close so he could speak into her ear. "angry krogan make the best lovers. if we cant fight we fuck." he did not have to see shepard's face to know she was blushing. gently he pulled her a little closer. "my name is Urdnot Grunt, and this is the woman i love. nothing will take her from me." shepard smiled. "my name is commander shepard; and this is now my favorite spot in the universe." they both chuckled.


End file.
